Labour Doorstep 1

Yesterday I was out on the doorsteps of Pinhoe with Cllr Moira MacDonald, Pinhoe's Labour City Councillor (who took a seat from the Tories at the last local election) covering part of Pinhoe Road, the Mede, Whipton Village Road, Summer Lane and Summer Close.

Completing the inevitable "paperwork"!

A fair number were out (which was predictable on the penultimate Saturday before Christmas) but of those that were in, I can only describe the welcome as warm. We decided we would knock on every door by way of introduction, not just those we knew to be sympathetic to Labour, and I am glad we did. Even those who clearly not naturally "Labour people" genuinely seemed to be pleased I'd called, and took time to talk through some of the local issues. Several said that while their vote usually went elsewhere, they would be prepared to support me next May because - as one put it - "At least you've bothered to come round. I've never seen the other lot."

How sad. A councillor's job is to represent. How can one possibly represent people one has never bothered to get out to meet. I've never understood politicians that see "getting out there" as a chore. Maybe it's because my "day job" has always been in community work, but I love meeting people and hearing what they have to say. It would be incredibly arrogant to assume that simply because I have been elected I know what is best for an area. It is by listening to people who have lived experience of their neighbourhood that one sees community issues from their perspective.

As an example, Summer Close. What a wonderful little street! Summer Close has a fair share of bungalows for older people, many of them adapted to help residents cope with their various disabilities and mobility problems. Moira and I met one elderly couple on their way to the shops, both infirm and partially sighted, but spritely, cheerful and ready to talk. "Lovely to meet you," they said at the end of our chat, "It's good to put a face to the name," and then again, "we never see the others here." I watched as they made their way slowly down the close, to the junction of Summer Lane where they had to navigate the barriers on the pavement edge until they were closer to the busy junction of Whipton Village Road.

Another resident of the close reinforced the concern I had when I asked about local issues. "We could use a crossing," he said, "A lot of folks in this close can't walk so well, and folk like me, well, our eyesight isn't what it was. Summer Lane is busier now. Busier than when I moved here."

A simple issue of getting local perspective. Looking at the junction from my own perspective, it all seems to flow, it doesn't seem too bad... Yet when one goes out and meets the residents, seeing that here we have a whole close that is made up of mostly elderly people of limited mobility, the same junction then seems too busy, and the traffic too fast. It's a perspective I would only have got from getting out, meeting people, and - crucially -  listening to them. They are the experts on Whipton, on Pinhoe, not me. 

It was great to see Moira at work in the same way, scribbling down several issues raised by residents as we made our way round. She is a true community activist, attentive to the concerns of everyone she spoke to. I cannot wait to be elected to the local Labour Group on the council. A team serving Pinhoe made up of 2 Labour City Councillors in a Labour-led Council, a Labour County Councillor (Saxon Spence) and a Labour MP in Ben Bradshaw will achieve so much for our community.

I'll leave the last word to a lady we called on in Pinhoe Road. "Does any particular party usually have your support?" I asked.

"I voted Conservative last time," came the reply, "But never again. Not after what they are doing to this country."

"Do you have any idea who you might vote for instead?"

"No. Not yet," she said. And then, grinning slightly, "I may vote for you. But you'll have to work for it."

And that, for my money, is exactly how it should be.